Tatuaje Havana VI Series B (5.38×48)

Summary

The Series B is the one with the tapered foot, and that detail matters more than it sounds. A tapered foot on a soft box-pressed cigar is a rolling technique that requires real skill to execute cleanly, and the García family at My Father Cigars in Estelí has been perfecting exactly that kind of craftsmanship for Pete Johnson since 2006. In a 5 3/8 x 48 Británicas Extra, the tapered foot concentrates the first draws through a slightly narrower opening before the full ring gauge opens up, which means the higher-priming Ecuadorian Habano Oscuro wrapper comes through with more immediate presence than in the Series E's standard parejo construction.

The barnyard and dark earth that define the cold draw on the anniversary sizes hit first, then the Nicaraguan double binder and all-Nicaraguan filler build cedar, black pepper, and a natural sweetness that develops cleanly through the middle and holds into the finish. The 48 ring gauge keeps the burn focused and the smoke cooler than the wider Series E, making this the more precise of the two anniversary additions. Twenty-four to a box with secondary anniversary band. The Havana VI started with six vitolas spelling a dog's name. It ends at nine with a tapered foot and twenty years of earned credibility behind it.